Boxed Set: Dominated by a Billionaire - Part 10-12: Irresistible Billionaire (18 page)

"Who do you think can get me in this state?" he sighs, exasperated.

"Brutus Lancaster," I say, trying to make him smile.

"Yep, that’s part of it. But why did I have to fall in love with the most inflexible, most uptight guy on earth?"

"Because as cliché as it may sound, opposites attra–"

"I’m stopping you right there, hon. I don’t feel like hearing that bullshit," he interrupts me, cutting up his chicken breast in a frenzy. He's holding his knife backwards, hence the problem.

"OK, I’ll shut up and listen," I say, holding back a smile.

"He said no…"

"To what?" I tremble, dropping my fork.

"To the romantic proposal I made him this morning. Naked, holding a red rose in my mouth. Don’t make that face, it’s true. I wanted him to be blown away and I screwed everything up: he flipped out."

"Niels, I don’t understand what you’re talking about! What exactly did you ask him?"

"The first essential stage in the evolution of a couple is to move in together, isn’t it? Well, guess what? He said no, the bastard. Living together, sharing everything, creating a little love nest – is that too much to ask?" he blurts out, on the verge of tears.

"It’s a little early for him," I say, trying to reassure him. "It takes Basile a while to warm up, but that doesn’t mean he has doubts."

"Yes it does, because I don’t count on waiting until I have gray hair – as sexy as that might be – to live
happily ever after
. As for you, you’ve got it all! Prince Charming, the castle, the white horse, the big diamond. I want it all and right now! I’m going to give him three months to change his mind. If he passes up the offer a second time, it’ll be the last…"

"Niels, don’t get upset…"

"It’s because of your father," he whispers softly. "Basile is great looking, hot as fire, funny, smart, sweet and loving when he wants to be. But damn it is he ever hard on himself and on everyone else! He got that from your father…"

"Sure but that’s just the point. Your role is to make him more… human. My mother never managed to with my father, because she didn’t try. I don’t think she dared."

"Yeah… well, anyway, the only thing left to do is to clobber Basile Lancaster’s dark side. To make the little Cupid in Calvin Klein boxer shorts that sleeps within him rise up…"

"Here's to the little Cupid!" I laugh, raising a toast with my glass of iced tea.

"Here's to the tight little boxer shorts covering his pretty little ass!" my best buddy says, finally relaxing. "Your brother is so sexy…"

Don’t go there, Alma, don’t even go there!

Too late…

7 p.m. I just closed the last financing file and am skipping down the hall – yes, I’m thirty-one – toward my King’s office, when I get a glimpse of Malik posted in front of the big door. I slow down, my stomach in knots.

A bodyguard?

"Mr. King is busy and doesn’t want to be disturbed," the giant bodybuilder informs me, without the hint of a smile.

"I think I’m an exception to the rule," I say, taking hold of the handle.

"No exceptions," the hound grumbles in a way that makes me let go of the handle. "No one goes in, not even you. Those are the orders."

"Whose orders?"

Adrian’s. Who else?

Seriously annoyed, I rush a few doors down and barge in without knocking. Standing behind his table strewn with electronic devices, Adrian motions to me to close the door and walks over to me without a word. He quickly pulls off his headset and answers all my questions, even before I get a chance to ask them:

"He’s with Kate. She showed up at the front desk twenty minutes ago on Vadim’s request, I barely had time to set up a mike in his office. It’s just in case she blows a fuse and discloses anything…"

"Have you listened to their whole conversation?"

"Yes, he gave me permission. So far, everything has gone fine. She seems ready to call a truce. Her father’s death must have let her straighten things out in her head…"

"Can you turn on the sound?" I ask, suddenly, a little overwhelmed by what's happening.

The ex-FBI agent hesitates a few seconds, unsure if he’d rather get hell from me or from his boss.

"Adrian, I’m not an outsider. I’m his wife. His family…"

That last word seems to be a trigger, because the giant immediately unplugs his headset and turns up the sound. In a snap, the two familiar voices ring out in the room. Vadim finishes a sentence, Kate starts another one. I try to ignore the crackling and concentrate on what they’re saying:

"If I had known that I had a half-brother, my life would surely have been different," Kate utters, her voice shaking.

"It’s not too late," Vadim replies. "Whether you accept it or not, Dimitri’s death is a release for you. It finally lets you get on with your life, to tie new bonds."

"I know he wasn’t a good man. I know what he did to all those people. To you, to your parents. But he was all I had in the world."

"You have a husband that loves you, Kate. And if you want, you have me…"

Did I hear right?

The pride I feel for him right then…

"Swear on Alma’s life that you had nothing to do with it!" she says, crying again.

"I swear. And believe me, if there is a single person I don’t mess with, it’s Alma. In my eyes, her life is worth much more than mine."

"I was terrible to you, and to her. Why aren’t you kicking me out of here and calling me all kinds of names?"

"Because I refuse to live in the past. We were born in it, Kate, but we can still change things… Our fate belongs to us!"

"Our childhood wrecked us…"

"Sure! I grew up alone and full of hate. You were an egomaniac’s little soldier – he used you and put you through constant emotional blackmail. But that stops here and now. Our demons disappeared along with him!"

"I need time. To think. But I know one thing at least: I was wrong about you, Vadim. And my father probably deserved to die alone. But that doesn’t make it any less painful," she says softly. Then there's the noise of the door shutting. She's gone.

There’s a long silence.

"Adrian," Vadim says in a louder voice, full of emotion. "You can switch the mike off, and find Alma for me, please? I need to… I don’t know. I just need her."

My heart is pounding so hard it feels like it's about to break. I rush into the big hallway and, fifteen seconds later, throw myself into his arms and hug him so tight that I’m afraid I’ll smother him. A few sobs run through him. His back is overcome with spasms. Then his hot, wet lips come close to my ear…

"Alma, I finally have a family. You. Just you…"

A gentle breeze is blowing through my hair. The sun will soon reach the surface of the water, it’s late September and it’s still in the upper 80’s. Santa Monica, as if it were yesterday. I feel like I’m floating. Or having the best dream ever.

I can’t stop looking around at everything – the tiny details and movements of this real-life stage set. Stepping foot again on the most famous pier of the whole West coast is not the least bit ordinary for me. Its wide wooden planks, its breathtaking panorama, its non-stop flow of happy-faced gawkers bring back all kinds of memories and images of us. Of Him + Me. My heart fills a little more with each wave that laps against the pier. The “Santa Monica Pier” from the early 20th century overlooks the Pacific Ocean and at the end of it, I indulge in sweet contemplation. Still floating. I feel like I have wings. That everything is possible. And it turns out, I’m not dreaming; I really and truly am about to put my life into his hands, a second time. In front of an audience, witnesses, all my close friends and family, in front of the whole world’s camera lenses. I, Alma Lancaster, am going to get my hook back into Vadim King.

Cry, all you temptresses. He is mine for real…

Dark, handsome, heavenly eyes, godlike body, rebellious, faithful, moody, sweet, ambitious…

Not to mention, a billionaire!

Thank goodness… not a murderer…

"You’re going to be able to say 'I do' in total peace of mind," he whispers in my ear, suddenly slipping behind me and wrapping his arms around me.

I jump, coming out of my bubble. I wasn't expecting him to join me so early. His deep, warm voice electrifies me, but the softness of his skin and his musky perfume calm me. I let myself fall back, allowing him to hold me a little tighter.

"What are you talking about, Vadim?" I murmur, with a sigh of happiness.

"They've just found out who killed Dimitri Monkov. A rival gang leader has just admitted he did it, in prison. The authorities have confirmed the theory: it really was him." He pauses briefly, then resumes mockingly. "I have nothing to do with any of it, Alma. I am not a murderer, so you can stop getting all worked up about it…"

"You knew?" I turn around suddenly, incredibly embarrassed.

"I figured as much, and Adrian told me that you had a little mental block," he explains. His clear eyes are looking out at the horizon and there's a little grin on his lips.

"I’m sorry, Vadim. I couldn’t keep myself from thinking… He killed your parents, and put a price on my head. I almost would have understood if you wanted your freedom; it was you or him. So I thought that… You know…" I admit, mortified.

"How about we forget all that and start a new life: what do you reckon?" he says tenderly, pulling me tight against him again.

"On one condition: that you finally fess up! I want to know what you have in store for me in three days!"

"It’s a surprise, Lancaster…"

"It’s my wedding, too!"

"We've already done that, remember," he says, pointing at the ring sparkling on my finger. "Let’s just say I’m going to give you a little bonus. Or a little something extra – call it what you like."

Damn grin…

Damn Vadim King: irresistible control freak!

The burden weighing on my head has just disintegrated into tiny pieces and can be swept away by the wind. Good riddance. Vadim is innocent. I never should have doubted his word, but the damage is done and there’s no going back.

So, forward march!

The emotional marathon can really get started. The next day our first guests set foot on American soil and in the evening, we all met up to dine in the luxurious venue perched up on the cliff. At the other end of the table, Madeleine and Séraphine argue over a slice of bread, as Clarence gives them a loving look. Judging from the screams and smiles they let out, the three of them have finally managed to accept each other. To make a family.

He stuck with it… and it paid off.

Right next to that dynamic trio, Sophie Adam and her husband – accompanied by their own personal doctor, hired by my King – drool over the view. One of her hands lies on her little round tummy, one of his on his wife’s shoulder. The two lovebirds exude total happiness. Once the first course is over, Clémentine – with a bright smile stuck on her lips and a sleeping Clovis stuck in her arms – leans towards the pretty blonde. I can only catch bits and pieces, but in the middle of their conversation, I hear them talking about tomorrow’s schedule. “A bath full of rose petals, it’ll be amazing!” So, he’s planned a day-out at the spa apparently.

Clémentine D’Aragon, a well-known spa-addict…

"It’s incredible how many ecosystems there are!" Lily explains to our mother, a little farther away, showing her the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium brochure. "But they’re all so fragile. If people would just stop polluting the ocean and wiping out all the sea creatures!"

"And the baby seals that make our skin soft and our lips shine," Basile teases her cruelly.

"You can be such an insensitive jerk!" Niels gripes, sticking up for my sister.

Things don’t look any better between those two…

For godssake, please don’t make a scene in front of everyone!

"Who’s up for a walk in the old downtown area tomorrow?" Pippa asks, inconspicuously putting her lip balm in her bag.

"You’re interested in history and architecture now, are you?" I ask, jokingly.

"You’ve got to be kidding, Pip’s just wants to go shopping on Third Street!" Lily says, seeing exactly my point.

"I don’t see what’s wrong with that," Kali snaps. "I, for one, would love to go with you."

"No doubt about it… Londoners know where it’s at!" my cousin taunts, relieved to have found an ally.

"Golf?" Alistair suddenly suggests to Vadim and Basile.

"No time," my lover smiles. "But the two of you should go – and try not to make me look ridiculous. I’m well ranked and I have a reputation to keep up…"

"Who would’ve ever thought you’d be hitting such a tiny ball, Arcadi!" Felix Alonso bursts out laughing, making quite an entrance.

"Damn, Fe, you came," Vadim grumbles, obviously touched.

The two men hug, pat each other on the shoulder, smack cheeks gently, smiling like two idiots. They’re happy to see each other again, there’s no doubt about it. Mission accomplished…

Surprise him by getting Mr. Swag to come: check!

"Can you believe it was your wife who kicked my ass to get me to come! She’s been hassling me for weeks. My girlfriend is convinced that I’m screwing around on her with Princess Lancaster! Yep, that’s the name I put you under in my phone," the Latino says, greeting me with a tip of his baseball cap. "Hey and you could have told me that you got married, traitor!"

"That’s the way it is – I’d give my soul to the devil for this pretty mermaid," my King smiles, stroking my cheek lovingly.

Felix is kind of like a brother… Whether I like it or not, he had to be here.

But Roman didn’t even reply to our invitation. Just goes to show, blood ties aren’t everything…

As for Kate… your guess is as good as mine!

"Enough already, can the poetic lover please sit down? And now can we tackle the lobsters?" Lily bitches, a little further down the table.

Judging from the dark looks she’s throwing in the Latino’s direction, I guess she hasn’t totally gotten over their, shall we say, chaotic affair.